The Planet X Saga: Nancy Lieder

Ms. Lieder runs the website
ZetaTalk,
where you can find her story in detail (though perhaps not in complete
detail; many interesting aspects of her history appear to be missing).
She
claims to be channeling aliens, called "Zetans"
(short for Zeta Reticulans, aliens from the star Zeta Reticuli). These
aliens are telling her that a large planet will sweep by the Earth
next year, flipping the Earth's axis and killing about 90% of the human
population.

As usual, it's difficult to know where to start with such a statement.
First, I am no big believer in channeling. This, for those not
in the know, is when spirits, aliens, or whoever, are telepathically
communicating with a living human. I have never seen any evidence
whatsoever that that this is actually happening. I will simply
send you to
James Randi's website where he debunks quite firmly people
who claim to speak with the dead, and other dearly and nearly departed
entities.

Second, I have a difficult time believing that benign aliens are
communicating with us, trying to warn us of impending disaster.
If they really cared about us, how about taking a few humans to safety?
Or doing something to divert the disaster?

Third, I don't see any evidence for a planet coming by in May 2003.
More on that below. Fourth, I don't see how a nearby passage of a planet
can flip the Earth's axis. We'll see more about that below as well.

Do you remember the amazing comet Hale-Bopp that graced our
skies in 1997?
I sure do.
It was the brightest comet in decades,
sporting a tail
visible to the unaided eye, and was seen by billions of people.
Billions minus one, evidently, for Ms. Lieder refused to go out and
see it. Why? Because she claimed, as channeled by aliens, that Hale-Bopp
did not exist! Here is a quote from her that was posted on the
Usenet newsgroup alt.alien.visitors:

The Hale-Bopp comet does not exist. It is a fraud, perpetrated by
those who would have the teeming masses quiescent until it is too
late. Hale-Bopp is nothing more than a distant star, and will draw no
closer.

Now, you can find this quote on her website
in her archives. The interesting thing is that on her site,
the first two sentences above have been edited out!
She claims in numerous places that her predictions are never wrong.
I guess if she goes back and edits them, then she can make them
right after the fact. This, to be blunt, is cheating. You can
also read more odd statements made by Ms. Lieder
stored in Google's archives (and the original
quotation from her about Hale-Bopp
is also in the Google archives.

So, Ms. Lieder claimed that (the to her nonexistent) Hale-Bopp
was a distraction, a part of a disinformation
campaign by Those In Charge so that the teeming masses wouldn't worry
about Planet X. Guess what: she was wrong! The comet did indeed
pass us by in 1997, and was seen by more people than any comet
in history. As I said, though, Ms. Lieder herself didn't view it.
You can read the whole story here. It's pretty funny, actually.